One of the reigning themes among the senior designers this year does not have to do with their inspiration, the fabric they used, the revolutionary technique they uncovered, or even the designs they created. The theme for all seemed to include a strong tutorial in time management, something they will take with them long after they leave CCAD.

“The most difficult challenge I’ve encountered while working on this collection has been balancing my other classes. Ideally I would love to be able to dedicate this year solely to creating one fantastic collection, treating it like a job and working consistent hours on it alone everyday,” said Sarah Frederick. “Unfortunately between other school courses, jobs, and life in general, that hasn’t exactly been possible. It’s a daily battle to determine what needs to be made a priority and what needs to be sacrificed temporarily. I’d like to give everything I’m working on my full dedication.”

With five pieces headed to the runway in May’s Senior Fashion Show, Sarah’s final collection–filled with free-flowing, feminine, and Western-inspired pieces–certainly showcases the hours of hard work and dedication she put into her collection.

Accessories are carefully selected for each look.

As noted in past blogs, the students were not given a theme to follow this year and were instructed to find inspiration within. Sarah spent her summer break last year thinking about what designs she would feel most like herself in if she were to wear them.

“I am definitely a slow thinker. I like to mentally mull over inspiration, eventually sifting through enough ideas to dream up something I feel is truly worth creating,” she muses. “But when the concept stage feels thought through enough to begin doing the physical work, I can’t wait to begin the measuring and draping to find what shapes will make flattering silhouettes on the human body. Finally, actually constructing the garment feels the most rewarding, especially when you are able to sew something that looks like the idea you had in your head.”

During that initial thought process, Sarah thought hard about what she would want to wear as well as what would be feminine, comfortable, and confident.

“I try to think about how clothing affects how a person feels and how they interact with others,” she notes. “Designs that enhance your body instead of taking away from it or covering it or exposing it.”

Checking the details.

Sarah took aspects from Western culture and combined them with more modern and practical personal touches like little pockets or suede details. She also created a natural feel to the clothing through design, soft fabric choices, and various fabric-working techniques.

“One of the one most experimental techniques that I used in one of my dresses was embroidery and cutwork,” she reflects. “I layered two fabrics together and embroidered a pattern that I designed in Illustrator. You pin it to the fabric and then embroider over top of it and then cut off the top layer of fabric so you can see the dimensions in the layers.”

How fun is the CCAD Senior Fashion Show event? take a look at last year’s event.

February 28th was a long arduous day for CCAD designers, as they presented their final collections to a jury of seven industry professionals.

The job of those professionals was to evaluate the designs and choose the best looks for the runway show. The jurying was blind in that they did not know which designers were attached to which looks when they did their review—their choices were based on the strength of the design and construction alone. The end result: after reviewing more than 100 designs, 68 have been chosen for the May 10 show.

Below is our list of participating designers, including where they hail from. Sunday we’ll be covering the fashion photo shoot, and next week you can start getting to know these designers a little better as our fashion blogger Kristen Foley sits down with each one to talk design, inspiration, and the future. The jury has done their work, but the only way you get to see what they’ve selected for the runway is to get your tickets now. The May 10 fundraising event is shaping up to be spectacular.

Jess Betz, from Toledo, OH, graduate of St. Ursula Academy

Olivia Brezinski, from Perrysburg, OH, graduate of Perrysburg High School

Rachel Chertoff, from Buffalo, NY, graduate of Williamsville East High School

Nicole Chhuom, from Columbus, OH, graduate of West High School

Jazzmin Evans, from Columbus, OH, graduate of Independence High School

Sarah Frederick, from Swanton, MD, graduate of Southern Garrett High School

Jennica Gray, from Columbus, OH, graduate of St. Francis DeSales High School

Kassie Haji, from Columbus, OH (previously from Providence, RI) , graduate of Feinstein High School in RI

Katlin Hatfield, from Adamsville, OH, graduate of Tri-Valley High School

Katharine Hire, from Mansfield, OH, graduate of Mansfield Christian School

Tina Hughes, from Cleveland, OH, graduate of Eastlake North High School

Phoebe Isaac, from Lexington, OH, graduate of Lexington High School

Danielle Nicole Jones, from Westerville, OH, graduate of Westerville South High School

Dax Thomas Kauser, from Columbus, OH, graduate of Groveport Madison High School

Leah Sloane Kennedy, from Ypsilanti, MI, graduate of Ypsilanti High School

Olivia Mitchell, from Columbus, OH, graduate of Reynoldsburg High School